Pressure-locked sealing adaptor for bottle cap

ABSTRACT

Resilient plastic sealing adaptor for bottle or like cap having a tubular wall for telescopic reception within tubular neck of bottle. Adaptor has cup-shaped part including closed bottom wall and upturned annular wall portion for tight yielding reception of the tubular wall of cap, and integral axial extension of adaptor wall portion terminates in an annular flange adapted to be yieldingly compressed against annular seat on cap. Axial wall extension thereby defines closed, air-sealed annular cavity around tubular wall. Partial vacuum within annular cavity and also within a recess in cap is contained by bottom wall of sealing adaptor to assure tight adherence of adaptor to the cap without use of adhesive means.

United States Patent 1 1 Alpern PRESSURE-LOCKED SEALING ADAPTOR FOR BOTTLE CAP [76] Inventor: Melvin Alpern, c/o Starlite Manufacturing Co., 9800 McKnight Road, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15237 [22] Filed: 1 Nov. 22, 1971 [2]] Appl. No.: 201,038

52 U.S .Cl. ..21s/4s,215/40 51 Int. Cl 865d 35/04 1 [581' Field or Search 215/40, 47,48

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,184,090 "5/1965 Robinson 215 43 2,696,319 12/1954 Menefee. 215/48 3,433,380 3/1969 Kawchitch 215/40 FOREIGN PATENTS 0R APPLICATIONS 1,495,465 8/1967 France 215/40 111,369 8/l944 Sweden 215/40 1451 July 10, 1973 Primary Examinen-George E. Lowrance Assistant Examiner-Stephen Marcus Attorney William Cleland [57] 3 ABSTRACT Resilient plastic sealing adaptor for bottle or like cap having a tubular wall for telescopic reception within tubular neck of bottle. Adaptor has cup-shaped part including closed bottom wall and upturned annular wall portion for tight yielding reception of the tubular wall of cap, and integral axial extension of adaptor wall pot tion terminates in an annular flange adapted tobe yieldingly compressed against annular seat on cap.

Axial wall extension thereby defines closed, air-sealed annular cavity around tubular wall. Partial vacuum within annular cavity and also within a recess in cap is contained by bottom wall of sealing adaptorto assure tight adherence of adaptor to the cap without use of adhesive means. i

5 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PRESSURE-LOCKED SEALING ADAPTOR FOR BOTTLE CAP BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION I-leretofore, glass cap and bottle combinations have had rather limited uses, such as for visably storing and- /or displaying articles to be dispensed or displayed. As an example, medicines in pill form are dispensed from bottles of this type. Where, however, such bottles are required to have caps thereon fitted with an air-tight seal a problem arises, in that it is the nature of glassware to have variations in the proportions of the tele scopically interfitting parts of the bottles and the caps for the same and substantial clearances are required between said parts to prevent glass breakage.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION of the free ends of said necks with annular flat seats provided on the caps.

The improved adaptor of the invention may be molded in one piece from elastic plastic material, and has cup-shaped part, including a closed bottom wall and a stepped peripheral wall terminating in an annular, radially out-turned flange. The smaller, closed end of the adaptor is yieldingly but tightly applied over the free end of the tubular wall ofthe cap until the flange likewise is yieldinglyand tightly engaged with said flat seat to be in permanently air-sealed relationship therewith, Thus, a larger peripheral wall portion of said stepped peripheral wall forms a closed, annular, airsealed chamber in conjunction with the adjacent portion of the cap, and also provides a resilient annular wall portion for tight, yielding, air sealing reception within the neck of the bottle to have the free end of said neck in resilient air-sealed contact with-the annular flange. Accordingly, considerable manual effort is required to remove the air-sealed cap from the bottle, and the adaptor is held firmly affixed to the cap, as described, by the resiliency of the material of the adaptor, as well as a partial vacuum created in all voids existing between the adaptor and the cap.

While the objects of the invention have been adequately brought out above, other objects will be manifest from the following brief description of the invention and the accompanying drawings.

OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front elevation, partly broken away and in section, of a glass or like cap and bottle combination,

with parts thereof in telescoped relationship, and with the improved, pressure-locked sealing adaptor incorporatedin the same.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary, vertical cross-section, greatly enlarged, generally viewed as indicated at 2-2 in FIG. I, but looking toward a vertical plane extending radially from the central axis of the bottle.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary bottom plan view of the cap and adaptor combination, as best shown in FIG. 1 and on the same scale as the same, but with the cap and adaptor removed from the bottle as a permanent unit.

Referring to the drawings generally, and to FIGS. 1

and 2 in particular, the numeral 10 designates a prest sure-sealed adaptor fixedly attached to a hollow glass cap 11, for manually removably affixing the cap in tight, air-sealed relationship in a tubular neck 12 of a glass or like bottle 13.

With particular reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the seal ing adaptor 10 may be of cup shape and molded from elastic plastic material to have a closed flexible bottom wall or diaphragm 14, and an integral annular wall 15 of stepped configuration terminating in an out-turned, annular flange 16 adapted for flatwise air-sealing en gagement with an axially oppositely disposed annular seat 17 on the cap. The seat 17 is shown disposed radially outwardly of a relatively short tubular wall 18 on the cap 11. The smaller stepped portion 15a of the adaptor wall 15 is proportioned for tight, yielding, telescopic reception of the free end of the cap wall 18 therewith toward contact with a corresponding portion of the wall or diaphragm l4, whilev the larger integral wall portion 15b extends in radially spaced, concentric relationship to the cap wall 18, thereby to form a closed annular chamber 20 (see FIG. 2), which is otherwise air-sealed by the aforesaid yielding engagement of flange 16 with the cap seat 17. When the plastic sealing adaptor 10 is initially affixed on the cap 11, as described, flrm manual force is necessary yieldingly to insert the cap wall 18 into the small: annular wall portion 15a against substantial elastic resiliency of the plastic material, which also provides an air seal in that area around the wall 18. At the same time the annular flange 16 is likewise compressed into air-sealing relationship against the cap seat 17. In the initial adaptor-applying. procedure, some of the ambientair is compressed or.

forced outwardly of the central hollow interior of the cap 11, above the adaptor wall 14, at the same time some of the ambient air within the annular pressure chamber 20 is released to the exterior. Accordingly, a

partial vacuum is created in these closed spaces, which accounts at least in part for the strong tenacity with which the adaptor becomes affixed to the cap 1 l per se, without use of adhesives. 7

Application of the cap 11 to the bottle neck 12, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, may be accomplished by manually telescoping the annular adaptor section 15b into the bottle neck 12, against the resilient resistence of the elastic material of the adaptor, backed by the retained air within the resultantly hermetically sealed'annular chamber 20. Any air-pressure resistence whichflmay build up within the jar, upon snapping the cap into the closed position best shown in FIG. 2, may be offset by a partial vacuum, inside the hollow of the cap, which would allow the closed adaptor wall 14 to flex inwardly lar neck, the neck having an opening therein and a ,wall

surrounding the opening, the wall having an inner plane. surface spaced outwardly from the outer surface of the closure tubular wall and parallel thereto, the neck having an end wall normalto the inner surface, the adapter being of substantially cup shapehaving a bottom wall,

a side wall extending upwardly from the bottom, and an outwardly extending flange normal to the side wall at the upper end of the side wall, the adapter side wall having a first portion normal to the bottom and having a planar inner surface parallel to and in sealing contact with the lower portion of said outer surface of the tubular wall, the adapter side wall having a second portion offset outwardly from the first portion, the second portion having inner and outer parallel walls, the inner wall being parallel to the outer surface of the cap and the outer wall being parallel to the inner surface of the neck wall and in sealing contact with the inner surface when the cap is on the container, the flange being in sealing engagement with the annular seat and in sealing engagement with the neck end wall when the cap is on the container, the second portion being offset from the first portion a distance substantially equal to the thickness of the side wall with the inner wall of the second portion being in substantial alignment with the outer wall of the first portion, the offset of the second portion forming an air space between the inner wall of the secend portion and the outer surface of the cap tubular wall, the air space containing air at a reduced pressure serving to maintain the sealing engagement of the first portion of adapter side wall and the lower portionof the outer surface of the tubular wall thus maintaining the adapter in tight engagement with the closure cap.

2. The combination as set forth in claim 1, wherein the adapter is yieldingly firmly attached to the cap by the resiliency of the material of the adapter, aided by the reduced pressure created between the adapter and the cap.

3. The combination as set forth in claim 1, wherein the adapter is an elastic plastic material.

4. A combination as in claim 1, said tubular wall defining a cavity in the cap which is air-sealed by said bottom wall of said adapter.

5. The combination as in claim 4, said air space and said sealed cavity being at least in reduced pressure facilitating strong gripping adherence of said member to said cap. 

1. The combination of a sealing adapter with a closure cap, the closure cap having a downwardly extending tubular wall having parallel planar inner and outer surfaces and an axially downwardly presented annular seat, a container having a free upward extending annular neck, the neck having an opening therein and a wall surrounding the opening, the wall having an inner plane surface spaced outwardly from the outer surface of the closure tubular wall and parallel thereto, the neck having an end wall normal to the inner surface, the adapter being of substantially cup shape having a bottom wall, a side wall extending upwardly froM the bottom, and an outwardly extending flange normal to the side wall at the upper end of the side wall, the adapter side wall having a first portion normal to the bottom and having a planar inner surface parallel to and in sealing contact with the lower portion of said outer surface of the tubular wall, the adapter side wall having a second portion offset outwardly from the first portion, the second portion having inner and outer parallel walls, the inner wall being parallel to the outer surface of the cap and the outer wall being parallel to the inner surface of the neck wall and in sealing contact with the inner surface when the cap is on the container, the flange being in sealing engagement with the annular seat and in sealing engagement with the neck end wall when the cap is on the container, the second portion being offset from the first portion a distance substantially equal to the thickness of the side wall with the inner wall of the second portion being in substantial alignment with the outer wall of the first portion, the offset of the second portion forming an air space between the inner wall of the second portion and the outer surface of the cap tubular wall, the air space containing air at a reduced pressure serving to maintain the sealing engagement of the first portion of adapter side wall and the lower portion of the outer surface of the tubular wall thus maintaining the adapter in tight engagement with the closure cap.
 2. The combination as set forth in claim 1, wherein the adapter is yieldingly firmly attached to the cap by the resiliency of the material of the adapter, aided by the reduced pressure created between the adapter and the cap.
 3. The combination as set forth in claim 1, wherein the adapter is an elastic plastic material.
 4. A combination as in claim 1, said tubular wall defining a cavity in the cap which is air-sealed by said bottom wall of said adapter.
 5. The combination as in claim 4, said air space and said sealed cavity being at least in reduced pressure facilitating strong gripping adherence of said member to said cap. 